‘Red Panty Night’ and Lightweight Belt at Stake for Dos Anjos and Cerrone

There was quite enough excitement surrounding this weekend's lightweight championship clash in Orlando before Dana White put the cat amongst the pigeons following Conor McGregor's featherweight unification capture.

Speaking through Dave Sholler at the UFC 194 press conference, White claimed that the Irishman would either face off against the winner of Rafael Dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone's lightweight title bout or meet Frankie Edgar for the featherweight title.

Maybe it was the amount of rodeo playing on the televisions all week in Vegas, or the thousands of non-ironic cowboys floating around Sin City last weekend, or maybe it's the fact that McGregor always tries to make the biggest stir he possibly can, but it seems likely that the Dubliner will go straight into business at 155 for his next Octagon outing.

The fact that a bout with McGregor is attached to the winner of this weekend's 'UFC on Fox' main event adds a lot to the stakes. As one of the true draws on the promotion's books, either Dos Anjos or Cerrone will potentially take the biggest payday of their careers' home following a bout with 'The Notorious.'

McGregor told the world at the 'Go Big' press conference, that it would be 'Red Panty Night' in any fighter's household that would be lucky enough to secure a fight date with him. The SBG fighter's entire tirade was sprung from a question regarding Dos Anjos and Cerrone desire to fight him.

"When you sign to fight me it's a celebration. You ring back home, you ring your wife. 'Baby we done it, we're rich baby, Conor McGregor made us rich. Break out the red panties. We're rich baby.'

"So don't say you would not take that fight because you would take that fight like anyone else up here," he told Dos Anjos. "Everyone up here would take the fight with me regardless of belts, or any of that shit. I'm the money fight in all weight divisions, so fuck everybody else."

It was Dos Anjos's claim that a fight with McGregor would be "easy money" that saw McGregor go on his rant about 'Red Panty Night', but following his tirade, Cerrone got involved in the act too.

"Conor has no right coming up to 155," said 'Cowboy'. "He's not going to stand a chance, we're too big for him, too strong. So you can take your little English accent and get on."

McGregor fired back: "You're too slow. You're stiff as a board. I'd snap you in half, and that's it."

Sure enough, in his role as a guest fighter last week for UFC 194, Cerrone did not pull any punches when he was asked about a future bout with the Irishman. While you might hear some other fighters refuse to talk about anyone else but the task that is in front of them, Cerrone made it clear that he would like the opportunity to welcome the featherweight to a new weight class.

Cerrone told MMA Heat: "I don't hate Conor, I wouldn't just go and punch him in the face, but if he's got something to say we could figure it the fuck out. I've got no personal hate or beef with Conor, but if he came to 155 I would be a fucking fool not to engage that fight."

Dos Anjos sounded off on the situation too. "If he wants to jump in the shark tank, I'll be more than happy to welcome him," said the lightweight champion.

After becoming the unified featherweight champion on the back of 13-second dispatch of Jose Aldo, McGregor outlined his manifesto, which directly cited a move up to 155 lbs.

"I wasn't considering leaving the featherweight division for good because I am the world champion, this is my division," he said. "I say what I do now.

"Maybe there (are) a couple of contenders in the mix. (UFC should) let them compete against each other while I go up and take the lightweight belt and allow a contender to emerge. Then I'll go back down and take out that contender and then go back up after a lightweight contender has emerged and take care of that contender.

"I am looking to replicate what I did in my previous promotion, two weight world champion, held consecutively. I said I would do it, and I'll do it."

Any championship bout always raises the stakes across the board in all combat sports. However, there is a lot to be said for an intriguing subplot, and Dos Anjos and Cerrone has them in abundance.

The belt, the rematch and now with a potential matchup with the biggest male star in the sport on the line, Saturday night's main event from Florida is not to be missed.

Although there are a lot of people that believe McGregor will only fight the winner of the championship bout if Cerrone is the man who has his hand raised, we will have to wait and see how the event pans out before UFC show us their hand with regard to 'The Notorious.'